Get your fiesta on with this zesty cilantro lime quinoa. Gloriously gluten-free, vegan, and just plain delicious! Makes a great side dish or burrito bowl base.
Morning loves!
Today’s post is going to be a bit of a quickie, just like this recipe!
Everyone needs an arsenal of fast, easy, and healthy side dishes so get ready to toss this one into the weekly line-up.
With the refreshing flavors of cilantro and lime, this fluffy quinoa will compliment a bevvy of dishes and knock your typical pot-o-rice out of the water when taco night rolls around. I’m already dreamingup a behemoth burrito bowl with this sassy quinoa as the base. YUM!
Cilantro Lime Quinoa
vegetarian :: vegan :: gluten-free :: dairy-free
yields 3 cups of fluffy quinoa fit for a fiesta!
Need a little less? Feel free to halve the recipe! Feeding a crowd? You can easily double or triple as needed with no additional work. SCORE! Just grab a large enough pot and you’re good to go! Leftovers taste great and can chill in your fridge for up to 4 days.
So… what are you waiting for? Let’s get our quinoa on!
Cilantro Lime Quinoa
Ingredients
- 1 cup dry quinoa (rinsed)
- 1.5 cups water
- 1/4 cup chopped cilantro leaves plus extra to taste
- 1/2 lime, zest and juice (see notes)
- 1-2 TBSP olive oil or avocado oil
- salt + pepper to taste
Instructions
- First rinse and drain your quinoa using a mesh strainer or sieve.
- Bring a medium saucepan to medium heat and lightly toast the quinoa to remove any excess water. Stir as it toasts for just a few minutes. This step is optional but really adds to the nuttiness and fluff factor of the quinoa!
- Next add your water, set burner to high, and bring to a boil.
- Once boiling, reduce heat to low and simmer, covered with the lid slightly ajar, for 12-13 minutes or until quinoa is fluffy and the liquid has been absorbed.
- Add chopped cilantro, lime juice, lime zest and oil and season with a pinch of salt and pepper.
- Toss to combine and taste.
- Add any extra cilantro, lime, or seasoning that your heart desires and dig in!
- Leftovers taste great and can be stored in the fridge for up to four days.
- The quinoa will soak up the lime and oil so, to amp up the flavor, add a little extra dressing the next day and you're good to go! A scoop or two makes a fabulous salad topper or a flavor-filled base for a yummy burrito bowl! I seriously can't get enough of this stuff!
Notes
Nutrition
Serve it hot or chilled (my favorite!) but whatever you do… get this citrus-flecked cilantro lime quinoa your face, stat!
quinoa serving suggestions
Making stuffed peppers? Fiesta up your filling and use cilantro lime quinoa in place of the rice. Easy peasy lemon lime squeezy!
You can even try them in these Baked Bell Pepper Tacos – my husband flips over this recipe.
Get your carnivore on by serving it alongside grilled chicken and sautéed peppers or keep things gloriously vegan by topping your quinoa with crispy taco roasted chickpeas.
Basically… anything goes!
Have fun with it and feel free to share a photo of your creation!
craving more vegetarian quinoa recipes?
- Greek Quinoa Bowls (reader favorite!)
- Healthy Vegetarian Quinoa Chili
- Garden Vegetable Quinoa Soup by Beth at Budget Bytes
- Cranberry Quinoa Salad with Candied Walnuts
try toasted sesame seed oil instead of avocado oil for even more toasted flavor
Ooh lovely! I’m so trying that next time!
Just made this, added black beans on top, and it was a delicious meal!
I’m so glad you enjoyed it! Thanks!
I can never have enough side dish recipes ! Love your Cilantro Lime Quinoa and will be adding the recipe to our menu !
Thanks Linda!
I love this quinoa salad with all of that yummy fresh lime. Can’t wait to try this out at our next cookout!
I just made this recipe and I add some nutmeg and avocado AMAZING !!!
Thank you
I made this for my in laws and my family this past weekend….SMASH HIT!!! Thank you for this recipe!
So glad you loved it! The roasted corn is brilliant!!! I’ve only ever added straight-from-the-freezer sweet corn to it but roasted sounds purely dreamy! I’ll try that! Thanks!
BTW. i made the recipe this weekend and everyone loved it!!! Thanks so much for sharing 🙂 it was delicious!! I added some roasted corn to it.. mmm
Omgosh this looks delicious!!! I am going to get the ingredients and make this today!! Thanks for sharing!!
Yay!!!! So excited you’ll be making it! Hope you love it as much as I do! Xo
I just did this same combo with brown rice. Genius idea to use quinoa. I might have tried that, except I made four cups of dry rice for a recipe that calls for 4 cups of cooked rice. Oops, I ended up with 12 cups of cooked rice. Ha, ha. Oh well, it all went into delicious things…cilantro lime rice included.
oh my… this looks amazing! Totally making this over the weekend!
YUM! lime+cilantro+quinoa=total YUM!
Sweet! I seriously love cilantro lime RICE, I’m not sure why I haven’t thought to do it with quinoa. You are the twistomexicanerrything goddes I’m sure of it.
Yum yum yum yum yum yum yum yummmmmm!
this sounds so good! would be perfect for a mexican burrito bowl.
This looks so good! I feel the urge to run right to the store and make it tonight!
Yum! I’m going to make this alongside some Siracha wings for Superbowl!
Reminds me of good old Chipotle which is one of my favorite foods to recreate at home. A perfect, quick side dish!
LOVE this cilantro quinoa! Thanks for the recipe!
This looks wonderful, I adore cilantro but have not been using it much lately for some reason. Adding it to my list, thanks!
you had me at quickie… i mean quinoa. 😉
I love quinoa, I don’t buy it often enough though! Pinning this recipe to make this week!
Cilantro+lime for the win!! Love this.
Wow Jenn this looks gorgeous! Love the sound of the flavours with the quinoa – lime, coconut and coriander (as we UK folk call it) are such a winning combo.
This looks so good! I have made homemade Chipotle bowls at home and created a similar recipe to this one for it! Cilantro and like is so so good!